New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-05-23
THE CITY RESPONSIBLE.
BAD WORK BY ITS REPRESENTATIVES
HOW THE COUNTRY MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURES
GAVE LIZ PROM BYING HOBBED.

habtsBt" has been charged win peinS iaie" W -
public interests and with corruption and other cr''n9S
These outcrys from ne "spapers represen"S w
rninortv PARTY in the Legislature are louu an" Pi
lonped in the closing days oil the session. tnoo
nothing unusual in that respect TINS year oo'"o u
All. or,tcism "a deserved, much OF 1t is false anu
sn.s iii of Il srrings frcm unworthy partisan
a.;.as The democratic Legislature OF 1883 made
che worst record of Legislature since the Gays OF
Tweed But the Democratic newspapers whien
defended and upheld the record OF thst Oou! NV
vithstsndlng Governor Cleyesnds hundreus o.
v.toes-src lust now loud in condemnation Oh IN
record OF the present Legislature Inc ""i
such criticism is seif-evldeht ,.. :,
Tn,..s there is n good deal of loose legislation in
fbe next four days the record OF this Legislature WIN
onnare tavorably with that of preceding ones rer-
lection ia not claimed for IT Until there Is chanEo
IN the nothods OF legis ston and greater imtsuoh
n, the ursdiction of the Legislature 1t is doubtful
one will ever assemble here that WIN tuii! l'eo'
nnbic expectation. The reason Tor this Is the multi
nlicty Of subjects with which it Is called upon 70 oeai'
The number oil bills introduced each year is increas
,ns Tbis wear there have been 400 introduced IN
the Assembly and 743 10 the Senate, total OF y 100
II ia impossible tor the members TO inform toemse'e
fully on the merits of these numerous measures 90
far the Assembly has sent go OF its bills 10 Tue
so,.to and IL has received $40 Senate bills The
rsat ma;ority OF these are local bills and the Work
NJ nsssin. upon them is necessarily lett to commlt
toes. 80, , ,-,..
speoialiy to New York and Brooklyn, ana IL III CON
nection with these bills that most OF the scandals III
tha Jeyislature Arise 1t would undoubtedly Do
GOOD thing If some way were devised OF relieving the
Is1alature from the consideration OF these purely
local easures. II Governor Hill had not ior Par'is -,
reasons vetoed the Consritutionat CONVENTION "ii
this might have been accomplished. Wheh inns 70
done there will be time Tor general iegisia'oh
and less work for lobbyists When the Legislature
no longer permitted to pass ouis IN inc inloieS' Vi
individuals and private corporations sucn as 'ne
Cable Railroad, there will be lever men sent hclo
fro New York aud Brooklyn to represent such IN
a;,;d,.is and and the public will gam
,p,ensev in consequence of that change But so lar
mo nopular method has been devised by which the
Legislature get rid OF this mass OF local lesis"
ton relating to New-York and Brooklyn.
The TIlden Municipal Commission suggested
Finance Board TO be elected by propeitS-owners
But every MAJ who Joined in that recommendation
has since boon marked for public disfayor no otnef
solution of the problem has been offered NO senspe
man proposes to leave the interests OF the people Oh
New YORK. and Brooklyn in the hands OF such men IA
o. ale,,aa in those cities to the Board Of Aldermen
or tn the legislature Numerous requests have oeen
receive cd here within few days from large property
holders in Sew-Yoik-Democrats and bepnDhcsos-
asking that bill be passed further iesineuns 'u0
mowers of the Board of Aldermen. The Legislature
could mt do more popular and righteous thing than
To mass such bill. The Electric Light Combine
and other recent scandals in the board show tnat IL
ia wholly unfit to be trusted with legislative powers
of any kind. All experiments by Way oil minority
,eoee.entalion eIeoting Aldermenat Large provldhg
two brancbes of the board etc, which have been
tried Ia the last twenty years have proved natures
Where, then, is the power to leglsla'e lot
New-York be lodged2 And Brooklyn Is no
bettar of The electric light and rapid transit
scandals and other revelations brought TO light by
the Baoon Investigating Committee demonstrate
what was before well-known, howeyer-that
Bossp McLaughlns Board is no better than that Oh
q Bosses Croker and Power. -
The,e is no more mistaken cry than that whlch
Demoerat, give vent to concerning no me RUE ior
Naxv.York and Brooklyn, and charging tho country
members of the Legislature with increasing the taxes
Of the two cities and fleeing them In other ways
The theory OF home rule IN these iocai ID - ans
admittedly right, but the men wno violate !, ahc
s1o are responsible for about all the heecing tnst
is done are tho Democratic members IRON me TWO
cities Home rule as prsctised In the Boar as Oh
Aidcrmen would be fatal to the prosperity OF the Two
cites and MS carried here by the Democrats rom
the two cities 1T would Dc eqaay hss at tSe peope
Cbamberlain WINS is responsible for the ststemenb
that one New York Democratic Senator PAD SSVoo9
for hs seat in the Senate, another pald SoVoVo anu
40 m He made like statements concerning the
Assembly. These men get Sl,ooO each IN s1 tir'
which dess not much more than pay thelr hotel p
II anv ona will take the pains to examine the Oils
thew introduce to increase salaries III Ne*-loik,
create new Offices revive defunct street railway ana
other such local corporations, to reneVe properly.
owners of assessments etc., to open streets at public
expense and thus benefit private property anu I'M
measures 1t will be easily discovered how tney can
them 10 get to the Legislature. l.. ;.o
T'hs L;lIs which the New York members have INTRO
duoed this session, II passed wonia aoa
~ 500 600 q year. in addition they wo9ld give
over and other streets to the uses OF 10
corporations and open the way to jobs oil enormous
nrorortions. Senator Murphy, for instance, wanted
IL abolish the system doing public work DS cohtrse
aud substitute days labor Win man he mh
or Squire In the Public Works Department sueh
Law would cost the city millions OF dollars II tne
Aoueduct we're built in that way 1t would ProoaSly
add 81 O. 600, 900 to its cost Notwithstanding Tue
at that IL ia said here that Contractor OBrien has
nretty much his own way there now senator Nunon
wanted to build an exterior street on .ng LTt s ~
at public expense II would cost several mi mons OF
do,iars and chiefly bohe6t a few private properly
owners Senator 1raphagen wanted to gave al tne
s,reets ov IT TO tho Of the cable railway ana has
3D. that his chief business at his session. lie
also tried to create 600 snecure In the FINANCE
Department tor the benefit OF exDock CommissoneI
Koeh Senator Plunkitts great scheme was 70 get
an elevated road on Broadway In addition 10 that ne
bas introduced Numerous bills to open Streets etc,
ia the annexed district at public expense ana tnns
relieve the owners OF property benefited These bllls
n nasstd a city official has estimated would add
many millions Of dollars to the city's tax burdens
Some of them have been passed. Senators Daiy ana
Hanbam are the only two New-York Senators who
hye moi introduced bills oil this kind and their rea
tons with their party bosses ana .ne Ssss hsS
would not permit them to oppose many OF these pao
hills introduced by their colleagues
In the Assembly the record OF the New fSIx Demo
cratic members is mach the same Mr. Mulry dis
tingusbed himself last week by getting througn the
ancient Hrdson Valley Aquedact scheme aier II mad
to confer on private alton valuable franchise
which the city in the future may DC compelled 10
~ Mr. Shea tried to get through the bill to give
1900 600 TO c. I. Harvey from the citS treasury
sithour various Mayors ard other city officials have
seyereiy .sondemned it as an outrageous steal ne
Ia. made IL his chief business to get through bill.
ss5aling on the 8ity assessments and burdens wheel
beloug to private property owners These aIe tire sof
Of schemes that have with few exceptions been kea
~ OF the GOO bills which have been sent to the
Governor about one-quarer relate to New YORK ano
Rrookiyp Ouly OF these, that authorizing an in
crease OF the salaries OF the Dock Commissioners WA
introduced by country member-and tnat wa
eUYork aud brooklyn members. One OF the frs
hills psssed was that OF Senator Punkitt to override
the action OF toe Board OF Estimate In making appro
nrsntioas for the Board OF Education. All the New
York members supported that BILL thus Informing TN
nnntrv members that not the Board OF Estimate